BRISK FEBRUARY SALES KEEP OTTAWA IN SELLER'S MARKET
Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,118 residential properties in February through the Board's Multiple Listing Service(R) system compared with 787 in February 2009, an increase of 42.1 per cent.
Of those sales, 323 were in the condominium property class, while 795 were in the residential property class. The condominium property class includes any property, regardless of style (i.e. detached, semi-detached, apartment, stacked etc.) which is registered as a condominium, as well as properties which are co-operatives, life leases and timeshares. The residential property class includes all other residential properties.
"Last month's sales were near the top of the usual range for this time of year, as opposed to February of 2009, which was the end of the brief slowdown we saw in Ottawa's resale housing market due to global economic conditions," said Board President Pierre de Varennes. "So far in 2010, OREB Members have sold 1,838 properties, putting us well ahead of the 1,316 properties sold in the first two months of 2009. Inventory remains low and the homes that are listed are selling quickly, keeping Ottawa in a seller's market for the moment," he added.
The average sale price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in February in the Ottawa area was $317,030, an increase of 15.8 per cent over February 2009. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $265,938, an increase of 30.3 per cent over February 2009. The average sale price of a residential-class property was $337,788, an increase of 15.6 per cent over February 2009. The Board cautions that average sale price information can be useful in establishing trends over time but should not be used as an indicator that specific properties have increased or decreased in value. The average sale price is calculated based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold.